Sparks (A Special Agent Novel Book 1)

by C. P. Mandara

  In the end, funnily enough, sleep was elusive. The cold kept me awake for far longer than my body would have liked. I began shivering, and when it started, I was unable to stop it. Tremors overtook my body, and just trying to balance on the cobbled steps became impossibly hard. It felt like my limbs were slipping and sliding all over the place. When I finally succumbed to exhaustion, it was almost a relief.

  The respite was short lived. I awoke after a short nap to find myself shivering worse than before, and the cold cut into my side where I was laying like a knife. They were certainly going to put me through the wringer with this training course, I thought. How bad could a couple of weeks with a millionaire playboy be? Seriously, this bordered on the ridiculous.

  As my eyes adjusted to the dim moonlight around me, I saw that someone had been outside whilst I was sleeping. There was the outline of a sleeping bag in a clear plastic wrapper, and a bottle of water and energy bar had been left beside it. It was refreshing to know that they didn’t actually want to kill me by exposing me to the elements, with a dose of starvation to boot. Looking at my gifts, I slowly worked through my options. I could accept them and have a reasonable night’s sleep without my stomach trying to claw its way up through my skin, or I could refuse them. Although I desperately wanted to take the offerings, I did not want my stay outside to be any longer than absolutely necessary. Two days of trying to remain upright on cobbled stones was going to be agony. If I didn’t accept the water, and developed hypothermia, someone inside was going to have to make a decision regarding my welfare, I hoped. That would get me inside sooner rather than later, which was preferable to this infernal waiting, although I would be in a sorry state. It was the easy way out, albeit in a weird and wonderful way, and although I hated to admit it, I was going to take it. My body was already half way there. Give it another five or six hours without food, water, and adequate rest, and I was going to be a mess. Did I really want to play that card, though? If someone didn’t come and rescue me, I wouldn’t be able to get myself out of this very easily after I’d reached a certain state of exhaustion.

  Weighing up my options, I decided the smart move would be to get the hell out of here, but I’d already decided I wasn’t going to do that. I knew someone was inside that house, because the sleeping bag and food hadn’t appeared by magic. So I was going to tough it out. It was a calculated risk, but I was going to take it and see what happened. Besides, I kind of enjoyed the numb feeling that being cold created. It took the edge off things, and sometimes my overactive brain needed to calm down.

  Several hours passed, and things were all going swimmingly well until it began to rain. It started off as a slow drizzle, which was almost bearable, although my teeth had now started chattering badly. It then progressed to a great British deluge, where the heavens opened and the water was almost thrown down at you in giant buckets. Considering it was late April, the weather was unusual, but not unheard of. I was in for a rare treat, apparently. Coiling up into a ball on my side, I tried to protect my face and body as best as I could with my arms as the rain tried to batter me into the cobbles. We’d now gone past ridiculous and entered miserable territory. Why on earth had I agreed to do this? I must be nuts. No wonder Janice had told them where to go. It was too late for me, though. I hadn’t the strength to stand up, much less the will to do so. Maybe I’d feel better in the morning. All I wanted to do right now was sleep, although I think I could have confused sleep with being unconscious. I sure hoped those fuckers were watching me. As my body hurtled into blackness, I tried to fight the pull, scrabbling up to my knees, but there was no strength left in my limbs. Little sleep, even less food, and being horribly cold had burned through all my energy stores and left me as weak as a kitten. Had I planned this all along? Did I want to die? I felt my head bang against the hard stone in response, and then there was nothing. It was weirdly comforting.

  “What the fuck are you doing, Lois?”

  “Mmm?”

  I couldn’t open my eyes, but I felt my body swaying. The voice was barking at me, but I didn’t much care.

  “You’re supposed to play the game.”

  “Mmm?” My tongue was cotton wool in my mouth, and forming words was beyond me. I guessed from the jerky movements that I was being carried, and that I was probably not dead. Angels would be a damn site gentler and take a less surly tone with me – I hoped. On the other hand, this angel sounded a lot like James, and hearing his voice made me want to cry.

  “Yes. The game. You wait outside. Your knees get sore. You cry, you wail, you beat your fists against the floor in defeat, and then you run. You’re the fourth girl they’ve sent me. My set up worked perfectly well with the other three. Trust you to be an utter pain in the ass.”

  I was bitterly cold, confused, hungry, and so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. I didn’t even try to make sense of what he was telling me.

  “Sleepy,” I slurred. Snuggling into his chest, I inhaled a zesty mouthful of lime and sighed. It even smelled like James.

  “You can’t go to sleep. You’re hypothermic. We need to get you in a nice hot bath, and get some hot tea down your neck. Whilst I most certainly do not want you here, neither do I want you dead, so if you even think of going to sleep, I’ll spank you.

  “Mmm.” I was back to not wanting to talk.

  “And let me tell you, that will warm you up nicely.”

  The next thing I knew, I was being roughly shaken awake. “Lois. Stay with me. The bath is running. I’m going to get in with you, and then we’re going to warm you up. Don’t make me slap you around.”

  “Unghh.” I dipped in and out of consciousness several times on our way to the bathroom. Not even the thought of James could keep me awake, and considering he’d kept me awake for at least the last few weeks, that was saying something. I barely responded to his shaking or veiled threats, and quite frankly I didn’t care what he did to me. My body was bone tired, and it needed rest.

  I finally managed to rouse myself when I was being dunked into the bath. The warm water lapped around my legs, and life began to stab at my limbs in a very unpleasant fashion.

  “Nnghh.” That was a ‘no, take me out of this bath and let me sleep’, but he wasn’t having any of it.

  “Just give it a couple of minutes, Lois. I promise the pain will go away. It feels hot, but this bath is only lukewarm at best.”

  When my eyes fully opened, it was with horror that I realised I wasn’t actually dead, and that my angel was indeed James Leveritt from Elite Encounters. Oh, my fucking God. I immediately spluttered about a bit, and tried my best to set a rocket-like course out of the bathtub, but my nemesis was having none of it.

  “Relax into me. I’ve got a cup of tea and some food if you’re hungry?”

  I’d finally spent the last reserves of my energy. James’s fully clothed body was underneath me, and it should have felt decidedly weird to have his arms around my naked body, but I didn’t care. I was far too cold to care about nakedness, food, or even drink for that matter. My head lolled against James’s chest as my body sank into the full tub, but he had a fierce grip around my waist, so I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. After a few minutes of silence, I began to rouse from my stupor.

  “What are you… doing here?” It took a considerable degree of effort to get those words past my lips, but the question had been burning at the back of my brain for a little while now.

  “Rescuing you. They paged me about two hours ago to say that you were one stubborn fuck, and that I’d better get my ass down here and get you some medical attention. I broke every damn speed limit in the book to get here, but I’d have broken them all with a good degree more enthusiasm if I’d have known how bad you really were.”

  My shivering had started again, less severe this time, but it still made my next question extremely difficult to voice.

  “Why didn’t… the man who left… sleeping bag… rescue me?” I finally managed to get out through my chattering teeth.

  “
Because he wasn’t here. Everything’s on camera, Lois. He waited until you were asleep and dropped the stuff off en route to his next job. When you refused to give in, I was the next closest alternative, and the only man left available to deal with this. Now it’s time for me to ask a few questions. Why didn’t you take the sleeping bag, or the food and drink? And why on earth are you still here after every instinct in your body must have been screaming to run? I know what they teach you, Lois, and it’s to preserve your life at all costs. You did exactly the opposite. By rights, I should phone Sharkey right now and tell her you’re not fit for the job.” James’s arms became a little tighter around my midriff, but I didn’t care.

  “But you won’t.” My voice was a small whisper, and my breathing began to sound really loud in the silence that followed.

  He grunted. “It’ll be a bit difficult explaining how I almost got you killed, although you should take a fair brunt of the responsibility for that.”

  “I thought there was someone in the house.” I was now acutely aware of my nakedness, and that James was behind me with his arms around me. My skin was now on fire, and I wasn’t sure who or what was responsible for it.

  “I gathered that. I hadn’t counted on exactly how stubborn you are, either. I’m undecided as to whether you’re one of the craziest operatives they have, or one of the best. I’m veering towards crazy.” He sighed.

  There was a stainless steel travel cup on the side of the bath full of warm tea, and James made me drink it slowly, sip by sip, after propping me up in a sitting position. It was disgustingly sweet, which almost made me gag, and every time he placed the mug against my lips, I almost jumped. Damnit. I needed to get my reaction to him under control. Calming myself down with large deep breaths, I let my thoughts wander.

  In less than a heartbeat, everything about our previous encounter began to make sense. He was an operative, and he’d been checking me out. That meeting had been no chance encounter. I shook my head at my own stupidity. His reactions, his questioning technique, his uncanny ability to read my mind… all of those had been developed through years of careful training. How had I missed that? I wanted to bang my head against the wall.

  “Drink, Lois.” The mug was at my lips again, and it was being tipped into my mouth, giving me little option but to do as I was told. When all the tea was gone, he turned the hot tap on and slowly poured more warm water into the bath. He kept doing this in increments, until I finally felt pretty toasty.

  “Eat.”

  The energy bar that had been near my sleeping bag earlier reappeared, and as if on cue, my stomach growled in protest.

  James began unwrapping it for me. “I’m sorry it’s not more appetising, but there is no food in the house. I’ll have to go out for supplies first thing tomorrow.” He handed the bar to me, and I took a small bite before nearly spitting the thing straight back out at him. It was like eating cardboard with a hint of chemical lemon flavouring. Oh well. I’d probably eaten worse, although I wasn’t entirely sure.

  “Eat it up, Lois. Don’t make me force-feed you.”

  I rolled my eyes at James’s high-handedness. “Sounds kinky,” I said.

  “You have no idea.”

  Finishing the energy bar quickly, because it was the kindest thing to do for my taste buds, I let James hoist me out of the bath. He towelled me down quickly, and I didn’t have the energy to object. He’d seen me naked before, and it was unlikely he’d try to jump me this evening. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I’d object if he did. Thankfully, I managed to distract my thoughts away from that sticky subject quickly. Noticing that my shivering had stopped, and the vicious prickling of my skin had now subsided, all of a sudden I was feeling a whole lot better. I turned around and gave him a hard stare. “What was in that tea?”

  He grinned at me. “A couple of painkillers. I’m not usually very generous with the medication around here, so enjoy them.”

  I sighed. “It might have been nice if you’d told me that before I drank the tea.”

  James handed me an old black t-shirt - I pulled it over my head. It stopped just below the tops of my thighs, but anything was better than nothing. My case outside containing all my clothes would be soaked through by now.

  “That there is your problem, Lois. You’ve got to learn to do as you’re told. If you’re heading towards the land of submission, your life is going to be dictated by someone. If they say eat this, you eat it. If they say crawl about the back yard naked, you do it, no questions asked.”

  “I did do that,” I pointed out, brandishing a tight smile at him.

  “No, you didn’t,” he replied. “You barked a load of questions straight back. You are not submissive material.” He put his arm around my shoulder and propelled me out of the bathroom. I had to bite my lip against the protest that wanted to arise. I would not be doing myself any favours if I challenged him on every move he made.

  “Tomorrow, you can gather your things and we’ll see what we can do about getting you back home. I’ll have a word with Sharkey for you.”

  “No,” I said with a little more force than necessary. If the volume of my voice shocked me, James looked stunned.

  “No?” The look he gave me was not friendly.

  “No. I need to do this.”

  He stopped dead, and we came to a rather painful abrupt halt. “You need to walk into a certain death trap and have sex with lots of random men?” He raised his eyebrows at me, and his icy blue irises could have given me another dose of hypothermia.

  “You don’t know that,” I countered.

  His voice went low and soft as he said, “Au contraire, Lois. I do know that for certain. Sharkey knows it too, but you’re just a number to her.”

  That little snippet of information was not news to me, so I made no comment.

  Leading me into a sterile bedroom, with four bare white walls and a double bed dressed in sheets of the same colour, he turned on the bedside lamp with a sharp click.

  “Get in.”

  I did as I was told. I was tired, it was a bed, and I’d had a long day. Hauling the covers up high over my neck, I offered him a timid, “Goodnight.” James had rattled me, and I needed some alone time to lick my wounds. The door closed abruptly, and my wish was granted. My face fell. You had to be careful what you wished for, I thought.

  Sleep did not come as easily as I’d hoped. As soon as the lights were off, my brain went into overdrive, and I spent the next hour analysing every damn word James had ever said to me. He assumed he knew more about my assignment than me, which generally would have been correct if I played by the rules. I didn’t. Cellular Operations had trained me to snoop, dig, uncover, and leave no stone unturned. What they didn’t know was that I happily hacked through everything else they left out. I’d had a fascination with computers at an early age, and it hadn’t taken me long to learn just about every computer coding language known to man. With that knowledge, it hadn’t been a great leap towards hacking, and these days you’d have to be a technological genius to find me.

  I’d known the instant Sharkey had given my assignment away, but there had been nothing I could do about it – without revealing myself, that was. Then it was reassigned again and again, and finally, through some slice of sheer luck, I managed to get a shot at it. If James thought he could talk me out of it, he was much mistaken. I was more than happy to play dumb up to a point, but if it didn’t get me what I wanted, then I’d fight dirty.

  I had no doubt the man was serious when he said he’d talk to Miss Sharkey and get me back home. That wasn’t going to happen. I’d do whatever it took to put a spanner in the works, but I would be in Mr. Dumortier’s grounds before the month was out, acting as one of his personal sex slaves, or I’d die trying. It was a distinct possibility, but I’d already factored that risk in. I just needed to be trained up in order to get a shot at it, and while James wasn’t my ideal choice for the job, I’d waited long enough. It was past time things started going my way, and if I had a cell phone n
ow, I’d be making a few calls. As I didn’t, I decided to steal James’s.

  I much preferred wearing a pair of trousers when going into cat burglar mode. Creeping around the house in a T-shirt that was practically indecent just didn’t feel right. That was the least of my worries, though. I now had to figure out where James was sleeping, steal his cell or find a computer, and get a message out. It wasn’t going to be as easy as it sounded, but I was up for a challenge.

  Thankfully the floor beneath me was tiled, so I didn’t have to worry about squeaky floorboards. What I did have to worry about was freezing my ass off yet again, and getting caught. Although getting caught wasn’t really an option. I’d just have to make sure I was careful, or I could kiss Alain Dumortier goodbye, because I wasn’t getting near the man under any guise other than a submissive.

  Releasing a breath of pent up air upon finding my door didn’t squeak, I managed to let myself out into the hallway with relative ease. James had left the light on, which was a pain, as it meant my night vision would deteriorate rapidly. I’d have to move as quickly as possible and try my best not to look directly at any light sources. Scanning the area quickly, I picked up five doors in my immediate line of sight.

  The first door next to me was ajar and happened to be a bathroom, which was good to know. I stored that little gem for later use. The second door across the hall was locked. If I’d had my purse with me, I could have picked it, but if I wanted to do it here and now, I’d need to search for something like a hacksaw blade or hose clamp in order to prise it open. That was going to be a last resort, too, because the chances were it would wake James up, unless he slept like the dead, and I very much doubted he did.

  Door number three was a lounge area. There were several worn leather sofas, a brick inglenook fireplace, and an old wooden coffee table with a couple of magazines thrown on top. It wasn’t until door number four that things got considerably more interesting. For starters, it had a deadbolt on the outside, which might have suggested there was something valuable stored inside its depths. Squeezing the handle softly, I gently pushed it forward until it was far enough open that I could peer inside. On my first glance around, I had no idea what I was looking at. Everything was in darkness, and the lines and shapes were unfamiliar to me. It took a good deal of focusing and refocusing before I could make out what I was actually looking at. Then it hit me. This was a dungeon. There were benches much like the ones James had used with me in Elite Encounters, a long line of leather whips, floggers and paddles, and numerous other strange and wonderful looking torture devices. This was where the training took place, then. I gave it one last look around before I closed the door quietly. Much as I would have loved to have turned the light on and examine everything in more detail, that was not my objective tonight. I needed to get my hands on a cell to make sure I snagged this assignment.